No. 8 seed Iowa City West heads to 3A boys’ soccer championship game

DES MOINES- It's just magic at this point.

The Iowa City West boys' soccer team is going to play for a Class 3A state title. The No. 8 seed in the state tournament, the Trojans weren't expected to get past previously undefeated Cedar Rapids Prairie in the opening game, nevertheless made it to the semifinals.

They're here now though and it's going to be impossible for No. 2 West Des Moines Valley to not take them seriously come 5 p.m. Saturday at Cownie Stadium after a convincing 4-1 win over No. 4 Bettendorf.

Though to be fair, no one foresaw this, not even Trojans head coach Brad Stiles.

'I'm definitely surprised,” Stiles said. 'My daughter has a dance recital (Saturday) that I bought a ticket for, so sorry family.”

Nick Raley struck first for the Trojans (15-7). His goal in the fourth minute set the tone for the game and came quite a bit quicker than his 79th-minute goal against the Hawks on Thursday night that tied the game, sending it into overtime and eventually a shootout.

A nice strike from the left side of the net stood pat for the majority of the first half. The last 15 minutes, though, belonged to Bettendorf (15-2).

'We always talk about scoring early and scoring often,” Raley said. 'We didn't want to play from behind today.”

The ball ended up in front of the West goal after a Bulldog attack and Brant Mueller headed it in as the first half ended in a 1-1 tie.

After the break, it was all West. The Trojans had a number of chances during the first 20 minutes of the period and it seemed like it was only going to be a matter of time before someone sent one in.

Alex Andersen obliged - twice, actually. His first came at the 21:21 mark, after he managed to break away from the Bulldog defenders with the ball. He managed to slip it past Bettendorf keeper Sam Murphy into the center of the net, putting his team up 2-1.

'Anton (N'Dayishimiye) is doing a great job up top, all the credit to him, he put in great balls,” Andersen said. 'I just did my job, tucked it away on the floor.”

Andersen's second goal was a nice strike from the left side, a shot in which Murphy had no real opportunity to stop. The second came in the 62nd minute and really ended any chance for the Bulldogs to make a comeback.

Freshman Brody Schilling added one last goal to seal the championship date.

'It feels amazing to know I have 21 other players who have my back and the support of everyone who's ever played for the program,” Raley said. 'It feels great.”

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